Estes Park Opinion

Letters to the Editor

Our industry needs nuclear energy

Posted:
08/07/2014 07:54:19 PM MDT

The record setting earthquake in Japan will cause Germany and Switzerland to eventually shut down their nuclear reactors. However, most countries did not bury their heads in the sand and new construction around the globe has moved rapidly forward, as developing countries with a thirst for electricity continue to turn to nuclear energy. Sixty (60) reactors are currently under construction in the world and China sees it as the only way to reduce pollution from its aging coal fired plants. Replacing these coal fired plants will significantly reduce worldwide pollution and reduce the yellow skies.

France took over the lead in nuclear technology years ago and has become the leader in exporting nuclear power technology. In fact they have set up a school in China's Guangdong province and the school is graduating many nuclear engineers to help with the 26 nuclear plants now under construction in China. The United States will move very slowly in the construction of new nuclear plants because of the glut of cheap natural gas and the push by the White House for only solar and wind energy. However, this will put the U.S. at a severe disadvantage because China and Russia will have a definite price advantage supplying their industry with cheaper, cleaner and reliable energy while we will be stuck with a bunch of unreliable, expensive windmills.

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It is past time to put our manufacturing industry in order, so we can compete globally, and we need cheap energy to move America forward.

Some of the uninformed media and our citizens worry about the waste that could be generated if the plants are operated like we do in the U.S. The countries currently constructing plants would be totally foolish to create all of this waste like we do in America. These many countries will simply reprocess their waste with the technology that was developed in the United States and perfected by France. However there is a ban on the use of this U.S. Recycle Technology in the U.S. because President Jimmy Carter stopped it on the grounds that it will lead to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. But this fear did not stop France, Britain, China, South Korea and others from successfully pursuing nuclear fuel reprocessing. Valuable plutonium and uranium in the spent fuel (called waste in the U.S.) can then be processed into a mixed oxide fuel that can be used again to create a huge amount of additional electricity. Almost 100% of the waste can be reprocessed into this valuable fuel. The process creates very little final waste for disposal. France supplies over 80% of their electricity from nuclear power and their nuclear plants have generated very little waste since the 1970s. What little waste remaining in France after reprocessing, has all been stored in the basement of a single building. Compare that to the mountain of waste that we have from our nuclear plants.

Mack W. Hunt

Research Scientist and Consultant

These are desperate times

The voices that shape the direction of a nation are not necessarily those that ring out in legislative halls, but those that approach the throne room of God with great faith.

As the Church believes and prays, the Lord will respond.

These are desperate times. Desperation has always been the birthplace of miracles. I believe that we are positioned for an awakening.

Helen Lefley

Estes Park

Finding solutions to the affordable issue will benefit the community

Recent articles, contributing to affordable living in the Estes Park Valley is a very timely discussion due, to recent flooding events, yet an issue that should have been addressed much sooner. A balance in community living does not occur by having one socio-economic class of people. To have balance means more than having individuals commute to your community to serve you. What gain does that promote individually and as a whole?

Estes is more then a beautiful place to live, it is a thriving and supportive community, yet like the state itself, and other tourist communities, it comes off as a gated community.

I was once a resident of the Estes Valley community, however, due to unforeseen circumstances had to leave the place my wife and I called home. We had our first home in Estes and furthermore had our first child there too. As an outdoorsmen Estes quickly got inside of me. To this day, 20 years later, Estes is still home and my heart still aches to be back. Why haven't we come back? The cost of living.

I have gone back to school as an adult to become a professional addictions and family counselor and have had thoughts of coming to the valley to practice but housing is what will most likely keep this from happening.

In my view, along with others, work on this issue. This will not take away from your community, rather it will enrich the community and state.